Friedrich Nietzsche: With a New Introduction by Richard Flathman

Friedrich Nietzsche: With a New Introduction by Richard Flathman by Mencken, H.L.. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781560006497.

The decisive influence of Friedrich Nietzsche on H.L. Mencken is readily acknowledged in the vast literature on the great American journalist and social critic. However, Menckens 1908 study of the philosopher has been relegated to footnote status by Menckens critics and biographers and has been largely ignored by Nietzsche scholars. There are good reasons for reversing this judgment. Menckens work was one of the first comprehensive and sympathetic treatments of Nietzsches thought in the English language. It is a provocative engagement with the German philosophers complex and elusive ideas, enhanced by a style that reverberates with a verve and dynamism approaching Nietzsches own. Mencken presents a view of Nietzsche that elucidates the latters complex and contentious form of the "gospel of individualism" while evincing a keen appreciation of his unrivalled capacity for critical analysis. The historical scope of Nietzsches thought is fully evident in Menckens analysis as is its application to modern societies and politics. In tracing the biographical and intellectual impetus for Nietzsches relentless attacks on conventional moralities and established modes of thought, Mencken discerned both an ideal and a method for grappling with social and cultural issues that remain salient in our own time.